What's Next?
by Psychos-Anonymous
Summary: Well it's all over. Yusuke Urameshi has finally been driven to the end of his story and now contemplates what has brought him to that point and all he has lost and gained. Lost in his own doubt, who comes with the answers he seeks?


P.A.: Strange... but I can hear Yusuke's voice saying the words I spill onto this page. Oh well... I guess that makes it better.

Anywho, it is currently 2:50 a.m. my time and I finished the Yu Yu Hakusho series after much time on my part. Thus, after viewing the final episode and discovering I have a serious bout of insomnia, I decided to write something in honor of that anime. I spent years of my life on that anime and it was one of the first things I ever felt inspired to write about. I owe that series a lot and decided to pay a little respect through this small oneshot.

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

&&&

So here he was.

He fidgeted slightly, staring out across the deep forests into the red horizon teeming with restless lightning. Somewhere deep inside he felt something click into place, a warmth spreading through his body as he inhaled that unmistakable scent. It smelled of blood, of death, of age...

Smelled like home.

Yusuke allowed himself a small smile as he walked through the trees. He didn't want to walk. He wanted to run, head thrown back and arms open wide as if to take the whole world and draw it into his heart. He wanted the rush of adrenaline and the surge speed brought, but he couldn't have it yet. He forced himself to maintain his steady gait, trying to take in every detail of the world he had left behind so long ago.

He had returned to Keiko as he promised, taking her to be his wife. Those were great times. He couldn't remember a day he was happier. With her nestled in his arms, brown hair tickling his nose as he breathed in her comforting smell, he couldn't picture himself anywhere else. The wedding had been everything they'd dreamed and more. All his friends had been there, like they always had been through everything else—supporting, approving, smiling—as she glided down the aisle to him—figure as pure as freshly fallen snow.

Yet...Each day that passed, each breath he took, every time he held her there was something nagging him, clawing at his mind with razor claws of longing and doubt. He felt the call of his true home grow stronger the longer he ignored its yearning cry. It wanted him to return and deep down he wanted to return, but such feelings were always smothered by his love for Keiko. Each morning when the dreams lingered behind his eyelids and his body had not yet returned to waking, he was almost doubled over in agony by his lust for that forgotten world, a time when the demon in him roared and his veins pulsed with a wild fire burning for freedom. The moment would pass as quickly as it came and he would once more be Yusuke Urameshi, loving husband and human.

Slowly dragging his eyes up to the crimson sky, Yusuke couldn't help but wonder if those were the same feelings that plagued Hiei in his wretched human prison.

When he chose to be with Keiko, he gained everything he'd ever wanted and yet couldn't help but feel he had lost so much. His life as the infamous Spirit Detective had given him so much. He had gotten friends, reasons to fight and live for—to _die_ for! It had opened up so much to him, giving him so many things he never even dreamed could exist for him. Such things were pushed to the wayside every time Keiko smiled and kissed him, whispering the three words that always defeated him.

He had lost everything. He was no longer tied to the Spirit World. Everyone he had come to love in the Human World had succumbed to the terrible human disease called "mortality." Even Kurama, sly, dependable Kurama, had passed from this world, finally giving in and becoming the human child he should have been from the beginning. Yukina remained, raising her and Kuwabara's child and running the Demon Refuge Genkai had always dreamed of, but such a quiet life held no appeal to Yusuke now. The Human World was dead to him, buried in the ground with all his beloved friends and dearest wife.

So here he was...

He finally stopped walking, letting his bag fall from his shoulder to the soft earth with a sigh. He had fallen to the call of his demon heart, but now what? It merely purred in satisfaction at his return but offered him no further guidance. Maybe the Demon World was dead as well, nothing but a rotting memory of what was but had long since passed him by. What was left for him here? Apparently his heart felt there was something because he could not convince his feet to travel back the way he came.

"So...Finally returned to us at last."

"Hey, Hiei." He felt a blaze of heat at his side and didn't need to look to know who had joined him. "How's it going?"

"Hn. You shouldn't think too much. It's uncharted territory."

Classic Hiei. Yusuke couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up in his chest, spilling out past his lips. He closed his eyes and let himself laugh and laugh... He eventually settled himself down into a few little snickers, trying to control himself.

"Are you quite finished?" The fire demon demanded, obviously irritated by the response he had received.

Yusuke grinned and turned to look at his friend. He looked very much the same as he had all those years ago, unchanged by the sands of time. Yusuke cocked his head to the side and sighed, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Sorry. I just forgot how stimulating your conversation was."

The shorter demon smirked, shrugging off the friendly gesture and walking past him. "There you are."

"Huh?" Yusuke asked, bewildered by the response. He turned himself to continue watching the demon move away from him.

Hiei looked back, his crimson eyes sporting the smile he dared not allow his face to show, even now. "I told you. Thinking is uncharted territory for you. You got lost for a moment but now you're back."

"Hiei..."

"Hn." Hiei snorted slightly and turned to gaze at the sky like Yusuke had done moments ago. "Sometimes, Yusuke... The _whys_ aren't what matter." Before the younger could respond, those dark eyes were fixated on him again. "The next tournament is going to be held in a weeks time. I hope you've kept in shape."

Yusuke smirked and picked up his bag from the ground. Hiei took this as an answer to his unspoken question and flickered from view, racing through the trees. The other paused briefly, turning his eyes back the way he'd come for his own answer. A second later, he vanished as well, finally giving into the urge to run free alongside his friend, finally able to say he was satisfied.

Sometimes, the _whys _aren't what matter. What matters is _what's next_...


End file.
